University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2005 Using Projective Measures to Examine the Relationship Between Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations Betty Marie Martin University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Betty Marie, "Using Projective Measures to Examine the Relationship Between Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2005. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4367 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Betty Marie Martin entitled "Using Projective Measures to Examine the Relationship Between Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Psychology. Leonard Handler, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Robert Wahler, Laurence James, Richard Saudargas Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Betty Marie Martin entitled "Using Projective Measures to Examine the Relationship Between Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations." I have examined the final paper copy of this dissertation forform and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Psychology. �Handler, MajJr Professor We have read this dissertation recommend its acceptance: / Acceptance for the Council: Vice Chancello Graduate Studie 7/(8:Jt . , JJ ., � Using Projective Measures to Examine the Relationship Between Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Betty Marie Martin August 2005 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to Drs. Chuck Jones, Jack Barlow, Joyce Cartor, and Mary MargaretKelly. You have all become significant parts of my internal world through acceptance, support, opening doors, showing me exciting paths, andguiding me to new understandings. Thankyou. 11 Acknowledgments I would like to thankDrs. Leonard Handler, Robert Wahler, Richard Saudargas, and Laurence James for servingon my doctoral committee. I appreciate Dr. Wahler's introduction to attachment theory, academic support,and continuous effortsin helping me become familiarwith measures of attachment. I would like to thankDr. Handler for his mentorship, guidance in research, and introducing me to CarolGeorge and Malcolm West. I also thankCarol George and Malcolm West for their excellent training in the use of the Adult Attachment Projective. Further acknowledgment goes to Paul Hoffman, Eric Peters, Ian Haag, Chad Sims, Noah Roost, and Yakini Stephens. This dissertation would not have been possible without their research contributions. JI) Abstract The purpose of this study was to document an empirical link between attachment theory and object relations by using projective measures, while furtherdefining John Bowlby's concept of the internalworking model. The internalworking model is a set of unconscious cognitive and emotional guidelines forhow an individual understands interpersonalinteractions, and influencesbehavioral and emotional responses (Bowlby, 1973, 1988). The internalworking model, as described in Bowlby's attachment theory; bears striking resemblance to object relations theories of internalized unconscious representations. For example, Donald Winnicott stres�ed th�_importance of early interactions with the primary caregiver as shaping the child's internalmental an� emotional world through processes of internalizingrepresentations of the parental figure as a psychological object (Winnicott, 1931). 100 Undergraduates were administered the Adult Attachment Projective (George, West, and Pettem, 1999) and Thematic Apperception Test, measured by Drew Westen's Social Cognitionand Object Relations Scale (Westen, 1995). Results show that individuals classifiedas secure have significantlyhigher average scores on the object relations dimensions of Complexity of Representation of People, AffectiveQuality of Experiences, Emotional Investment in Relationships, Understanding of Social Causality, Experience and Management of Aggressive Impulses, Self-Esteem, and Identity and Coherence of Self than insecure individuals. These findingssuggest that object relations can be used to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the internal working model underlying adult attachment status. IV Table of Contents Chapter Page I. Introduction .......................................................................................... I Attachment Theory...... .................................................................... 4 Classical PsychoanalyticTheory ................ ..................................... 7 A Comparison of AttachmentTheory and Classical Psychoanalytic Theory.... ............................................................... 11 Object Relations Theory ...................................... , .........................16 A Comparisonof Attachment Theoryand Winnicott's Object Relations Theory ...................._ . ........................................... 19 Additional Object Relations Theories....... .....................................22 Research on Children's Attachment........ ..................................... .30 Research on Adult Attachment Status and Object Relations ......... 34 II. Method ................................................................................................ 44 Participants.... ................................................................................. 44 Materials ........................................................................................ 44 III. Results .................................................................................................50 N. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 52 List of References ..................................................................... � ......... 67 Appendix A .......................................................................... .-.............. 7 6 Vita .................. :............. ...................................................................... 86 V List of Tables Table Page 1. Kappa and Intra-class CorrelationCoefficients Jor the Interrater Reliability of the AAP and SCORS ...............................77 2. Levene's Test of Equality of ErrorVanances ........ � .. � .... :...... \ .......... 78 3. Sample Demographic Data .......................... : .................................. 79 4. Pearson's R Correlations of Demographic Data and SCORS .;� .....80 5. AAP & Other Death Cross Tabulations anc;lChi-Square Test.. ...... 81 6. AAP& College Year Cross Tabulattons and Chi-Square.Test .-. ....82 · 7. AAP & Parental Divorce Cross Tabulation� and Chi-Square Test.83 8. Descriptive Statistics and Estimates of A.APand SCORS ..·u.-: •••••••84 9. Comparisons of Secure and Insecure Findings of the A.APand SCORS ............................................. .,....•..... :.�........ ; .. : ...... � .. �.�.:.·... .....85 Vt I. Introduction In recent years, developmental psychology has beganto use attachment theory-­ specificallyan individual's attachment status--to help explain personalityand behavioral development, developmental psychopathology, and to deriveclinical implications for therapeutic intervention. Attachment theory has its origins in evolutionary, ethological, psychoanalyticand cognitive approaches to human development (Bowlby, 1988). These approaches emphasize early caregiving experiences as forcesthat shape an individual's internal working model of attachmentrelationships (Bowlby, 1988). According to attachment theory, the initial interactions between primary caregiver and child will influencehow well attached the child is to the primary caregiver. The child will instinctually seek to engage the mother as a means to survival. As the child becomes either securely or insecurely attached to the caregiver,the child will develop internalcognitive structures based on the caregiver relationship, known as interna1 working models. These internal models, largelyunconscious, set the structure forhow the child perceives self and others in the· context of interpersonal relationships and carry implications forlater personality and behavioral development. This approach, heavily influencedby classical psychoanalytic and object relations theory ( e.g., the internalizationof interpersonalexperiences), has gained prominence forstressing the importanceof the primarycaregiver-child bond as the foundation of personality development (Sable, 1992). Classical psychoanalytic theory and object relations theory differslightly from attachment theory